It was a long trip up from the Sunshine State, but it turned out to be worth it for golfer Tim Crouch.

Crouch, a Florida Southern student, edged Aaron Crewse and Josh Clay by a stroke with a two-day total of 140 Sunday to take first place at the Stark County Amateur Golf Championship. Sunday’s second and final round was held at the Chippewa Golf Club.

Crouch, who is originally from Mount Vernon, heard about the event through local athletes he competes against during the NCAA Division II college season.

“I play with a lot of the Malone guys,” Crouch said. “I know Garrison (Myles), Tyler (Light), Jon (Clark) and Nathan (Tarter) from playing against them in college. Those guys all also play in the summer stuff. They were the ones that told me about the Stark County Amateur. It’s a great payout. It’s a great tournament, and Garrison and those guys did a great job of selling me on the tournament. I just wanted to come up here and play and compete.”

The Stark County Amateur was the second tournament Crouch competed in Stark County this weekend.

“I’ve actually been here the last three days,” Crouch said. “I also played at the Tigertown tournament on Friday and I came in third there. I’ve gotten to play here three days in a row and I like it up here.”

The level of competition has been one of the things that Crouch has liked the most.

“The competition is really good,” Crouch said. “It’s hard to find that down where I’m at. It’s a small town. Getting to come up here and play against all the Malone guys and all the Kent State guys is good for my game. It has really helped me get ready for some of the bigger tournaments I’m going to be competing in this summer.”

The competition certainly didn’t make things easy for Crouch on Sunday in the final round of the Stark Amateur. Crouch found himself in a bit of a hole before pulling off a Phil Mickelson-like rally down the stretch to get the win.

“The first 11 holes were a struggle,” Crouch said. “I had to refocus. I bogeyed nine and 10 and I had a par at 11. I wanted to refocus at that point and start the round all over again. I had a different mindset for the last six holes. I was going to try to play all of them at least two or three under. I ended up being one or two under on those holes, and that ended up getting it done for me.”

Though he was able to rally, things could have easily gone the other way for a golfer in Crouch’s position who was experiencing difficulties.

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“Once you get off track and you get frustrated, there are times when you just want to give up,” Crouch said. “I knew I was still right there in it, though, and I decided I couldn’t give up. I just kept grinding and I ended up winning by one, so it worked out.”

Crouch exceeded all expectations he placed on himself for the event. He was especially happy with his play Sunday, since it was his first time playing at the Chippewa Golf Club.

“I had never seen this course, so I didn’t know what to expect,” Crouch said. “I knew it was pretty short. I wanted to keep the ball in front of me on the fairway and not get too aggressive. ... I knew today was going to be tough. I didn’t expect to have a really low number since I had never seen the course, but I knew if I played decent I would have a chance to win.”

Crouch will be looking to take the momentum he gained Sunday and carry it into several upcoming events. Crouch was slated to participate in the Porter Cup in Buffalo, N.Y., at the Niagara Falls Country Club as well as a major junior tournament in Bostonin the next few weeks.